Working Group Draft Reports Are In

All of the Middle States Working Groups have submitted their first drafts. These drafts are undergoing peer review by members of the Steering Committee. Committee members have been asked to comment on drafts, as well as consider these guiding questions as they read:

Are all self-study design questions for the standard answered sufficiently? If not, which questions need to be addressed?

Is sufficient evidence provided to affirm compliance with all criteria of the standard? If not, where is more evidence needed?

Are there any conflicting statements in the draft report with your own Working Group report?

Is the draft report reflective of all pertinent areas of the institution (eg, undergraduate, graduate, schools of law, or faculty, staff, and administration)?

Is the rationale for recommendations in the draft report sufficiently detailed in the report?

Does the draft report provide sufficient discussion of how assessment results are used in relation to the standard?

Are there additional exemplar examples that you would recommend adding to the narrative to reinforce compliance with the standard criteria?

The Steering Committee will be meeting in the several weeks before midterm break to share feedback on these draft reports. Revisions to the Working Group reports are due April 1. Members of the campus community will have ample opportunity to share feedback starting in August, once the first draft of the entire self-study is completed over the summer.

In the meantime, Professors Krouse and Utell will be giving a quick update at the General Faculty Meeting on February 22 — feel free to ask questions then, before, after, anytime!

PS: The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is working on putting together our evaluation team. Interested in how that process works? Read more here.